Dash ac recharge on class a diesel pusher
Just turned dash ac on this past weekend. It blows cool but not cold like it used to. Is it easy to charge yourself? This is a 2006 coachman cross country. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks
Forum Discussion
The only reason a charge would work is if there's a leak. If there's a leak, charging is a very temporary fix and not cheap. For around $100, a good AC tech will pinpoint the cause of the diminished cooling, which might not be due to low freon.
Speaking of which;
If your AC is only cool, not cold like it used to be, it's most likely not due to a leak of freon. Here's why; there is a pressure switch that will operate the compressor so that the compressor will not operate if there isn't enough freon in the system. As freon is lost, at first the AC will blow colder air than it would with a correct amount of freon. The reason for this is that freon is converted from a liquid to a gas to chill. When fully charged, the freon doesn't fully convert to gas, there's too much of it. When freon leaks, it approaches a magic point where 100 percent of the freon evaporates to a gas. At this point the AC will blow it's coldest. However, if freon continues to leak, the pressure switch will kick in and there will be no chilling to the air. The reason the pressure switch kicks in is so that the compressor is protected. You see, freon contains oil that lubricates the compressor. When you leak freon, you also leak the lubricating oil.
In a nutshell, an AC unit will fail in this order if there's a freon leak;
1. normal chilling from vents
2. increased chilling from vents
3. no chilling from vents and compressor clutch won't engage because the pressure switch senses the loss of freon and subsequent lubricating oil
Speaking of which;
If your AC is only cool, not cold like it used to be, it's most likely not due to a leak of freon. Here's why; there is a pressure switch that will operate the compressor so that the compressor will not operate if there isn't enough freon in the system. As freon is lost, at first the AC will blow colder air than it would with a correct amount of freon. The reason for this is that freon is converted from a liquid to a gas to chill. When fully charged, the freon doesn't fully convert to gas, there's too much of it. When freon leaks, it approaches a magic point where 100 percent of the freon evaporates to a gas. At this point the AC will blow it's coldest. However, if freon continues to leak, the pressure switch will kick in and there will be no chilling to the air. The reason the pressure switch kicks in is so that the compressor is protected. You see, freon contains oil that lubricates the compressor. When you leak freon, you also leak the lubricating oil.
In a nutshell, an AC unit will fail in this order if there's a freon leak;
1. normal chilling from vents
2. increased chilling from vents
3. no chilling from vents and compressor clutch won't engage because the pressure switch senses the loss of freon and subsequent lubricating oil
